Gestational Diabetes and diet plan during pregnancy

You must have heard about type1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, but the least existing form of diabetes is gestational diabetes. If you are pregnant and during pregnancy you develop diabetes that condition is referred to gestational diabetes or GDM.

In accordance with the normal procedure alimentary canal digest the carbohydrate of food into glucose and absorb into blood. Glucose is the key source of the energy of human body.

After that, the essential organ of the body ‘pancreas’ release hormone called insulin, that get the glucose from blood and provide them to the body cell for proper functioning.

Development of diabetes refer to the state, that either your body in not producing enough protein or your body cells are not recognizing the insulin present in your body, that is why they are not using it in the way they should.

As a result starts to accumulate in the blood, causing diabetes or hyperglycemia. The average reported cases of gestational diabetes are about 200,000 only in U.S.

Diagnosis of gestational diabetes

At the approach of third trimester, pregnant women, who have the risk of gestational diabetes should test their glucose level through their health care provider. If you are at higher risk, your doctor may test you within the first trimester of pregnancy. By the use of oral glucose tolerance test, your doctor will confirm, either you have gestational diabetes or not.

Affects of gestational diabetes on neonate

Women with gestational diabetes, most of the time, give birth to healthy babies. For this purpose such women have to maintain their blood sugar level, eat proper healthy diet, moderate kind of physical exertion and keep body weight in an optimum range.

In few cases gestational diabetes affect the baby in womb. The possible risks are as follow:

• Macrosomia: Delivery of a baby with larger body than normal most of the time through cesarean section.
• Hypoglycemia: Baby with low body sugar.
• Jaundice: Skin color becomes yellow.
• Respiratory Distress Syndrome: Baby faces breathing trouble due to lack of oxygen.

Diet plan during pregnancy

Pregnant women need extra 300 calories each day in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy for the weight gain. This is equivalent to 16 to 17 calories per pound of healthy body weight. Additional ten to twelve grams of protein are required for the normal growth of the baby. You should also classify the calories intake such as; get 45 to 60 percent from carbohydrates, 15 to 25 percent from protein, and 20 to 30 percents from fat.

Eating Plans

• Some pregnant women with gestational diabetes control their sugar level with diet plan alone without the use of external hormones, by eating 3 small servings and 1 to 3 snacks per day.
• You may need a snack, before going to bed to prevent the attack of hypoglycemia at night. Your health care provider will better guide you according to your condition and your blood glucose level.
• Try to make a routine of eating at fix time, never skip a meal. Distribute your recommended diet evenly over the day and make sure you eat short meals after every 2 to 3 hours. Stick to the diet suggested by your physician and do not exceed the amount of food while eating.
• Avoid fast foods and beverages with surplus sugar, molasses, corn syrup etc.

Treatment of gestational diabetes

Women with gestational diabetes normally deliver healthy babies because they strictly follow a treatment plan provided by their doctor.

Sometime use of insulin also gets essential for the management of diabetes. The injected insulin can help lower their blood glucose level.